Saudi King Salman leaves hospital after treatment

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz left hospital on Sunday following a colonoscopy last week, the royal court said in a statement.

State media ran a video clip showing the monarch walking slowly using a cane as he left King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the city of Jeddah, where he was admitted on the evening of May 7.

An entourage kept close and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appeared in the clip. Doctors recommended that the King should stay at the hospital to rest for some time.

King Salman extended his sincere thanks and gratitude to his sons and daughters and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their generous sentiments and prayers. He also expressed his appreciation to all leaders and heads of state who called or wished him a fast recovery.

King Salman, aged 86, the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, became ruler of the world’s top oil exporter in 2015. He underwent bladder surgery in 2020 and had the battery of his heart pacemaker replaced in March last year.

Saudi Arabia has generally sought to quell speculation over the health of its king. Upon his ascension to the throne, King Salman appointed his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as his successor and lead day-to-day affairs.

Since his elevation to power, Crown Prince Mohammed has upended Saudi Arabia with dizzying social reforms, sidelined royal rivals, and cracked down on perceived opponents.

Under his rule, the Gulf powerhouse has launched ambitious economic reforms for a post-oil era and given more rights to women, while adopting a more assertive foreign policy including entering a war in neighbouring Yemen.